The rapid decline of many iconic animal species due to habitat loss presents one of the most critical challenges in modern conservation. <a href="https://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA</a>, an organization typically associated with space exploration, has emerged as a valuable partner in the fight to save endangered animals. 



By utilizing cutting-edge satellite technology, NASA provides vital data on endangered wildlife habitats, informing and driving conservation strategies around the world.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tiger-conservation-nasa-maps-suitable-habitat">Tiger conservation: NASA maps suitable habitat</h2>



Tigers, once widespread across Asia, have lost a staggering 93% of their historical range. However, a recent NASA-backed study paints a more optimistic picture. 



Combining Earth observation data with extensive field research, the NASA wildlife <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chemists-could-be-key-to-prevent-animal-extinction/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">conservation</a> study revealed significant tracts of "empty forest" that still offer suitable tiger habitat. This finding suggests that if these areas are protected and managed effectively, the potential for tiger range expansion could be substantial.



"There's still a lot more room for tigers in the world than even tiger experts thought," explained Eric Sanderson, a conservationist at the <a href="https://www.nybg.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York Botanical Garden</a> and lead author of the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-jaguar-conservation-priority-zones-by-nasa">Jaguar conservation: Priority zones by NASA</h2>



In South America, jaguars face a similar crisis of shrinking territories, having lost roughly half of their original range. The Gran Chaco, the second-largest forest in South America, is a particularly crucial habitat for these elusive predators. By analyzing NASA satellite imagery and land-use data, scientists have mapped out priority conservation areas for jaguars within the Gran Chaco. 



Disturbingly, over a third of these core habitats lack sufficient protection, leaving them vulnerable to deforestation and development. This data empowers conservationists to advocate for stronger legal safeguards in the most vital areas.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-elephant-conservation-habitat-preferences-to-mitigate-conflict">Elephant conservation: Habitat preferences to mitigate conflict</h2>



African savanna elephants, now classified as endangered, struggle with the relentless expansion of human settlements into their native range. A <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/iss-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA</a> study offers insights into elephant habitat preferences, particularly in less protected zones where conflict of with humans is more likely. The researchers found that elephants consistently favor dense forests, especially near waterways. 



Unfortunately, these same areas are often targeted for tourism infrastructure. Armed with this knowledge, conservationists and land managers can work together to identify areas where development poses less risk to elephant populations, striking a balance between economic needs and conservation goals. 



The experts can also strategically prioritize the protection of the dense forest habitats that elephants rely on for survival.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nasa-a-technological-powerhouse-for-conservation">NASA: A technological powerhouse for conservation</h2>



The use of satellite data in wildlife conservation is a rapidly growing field. NASA's vast satellite network and expertise provide unprecedented opportunities to monitor endangered animals and their habitats in real-time. 



"Satellites observe vast areas of Earth's surface on daily to weekly schedules," said Keith Gaddis, ecological conservation program manager at <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nasa-dart-mission-proves-humanity-can-be-saved-from-asteroid-collision/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA</a> headquarters in Washington. "That helps scientists monitor habitats that would be logistically challenging and time-consuming to survey from the ground - crucial for animals like tigers that roam large territories."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-directions-for-wildlife-conservation-by-nasa">Future directions for wildlife conservation by NASA</h2>



Habitat loss is a major threat to wildlife around the world. Conservationists have traditionally relied on ground surveys to track animals and assess their environment. But this can be slow, expensive, and logistically challenging, especially for wide-ranging species or vast ecosystems.



This is where NASA is stepping in as a surprising hero for endangered animals. Their sophisticated satellites are providing a game-changing perspective on animal populations and their habitats.



Here's how NASA's technological advancements are revolutionizing wildlife conservation:



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unprecedented-detail-and-scope">Unprecedented detail and scope </h3>



NASA satellites can observe massive areas of land in incredible detail. This allows conservationists to monitor vast ecosystems and track animal movements across huge distances, providing a much more comprehensive picture than traditional ground surveys.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-near-real-time-data">Near real-time data</h3>



Gone are the days of waiting weeks or months for data analysis. New satellite technology allows for near real-time data collection and analysis. This means conservationists can respond to threats to animal populations or their habitats much faster and more effectively.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-early-warning-system">Early warning system</h3>



By tracking changes in vegetation health, deforestation patterns, and human activity, satellites can serve as an early warning system for conservationists. This allows them to identify potential threats before they become serious problems for endangered species.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-targeted-conservation-efforts">Targeted conservation efforts</h3>



The detailed data collected by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/space-rocks-nasa-dart-asteroid-deflection-mission-may-impact-mars/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA</a> satellites allows conservation experts to pinpoint exactly where endangered animals are located and what areas of their habitat are most critical for their survival. This empowers them to focus their conservation efforts on the areas that will have the biggest impact.



The future of wildlife conservation is becoming increasingly hi-tech. As NASA's satellite capabilities continue to develop, conservationists will have access to even more powerful tools to protect endangered species. This collaboration between space exploration technology and animal conservation holds immense promise for the future of our planet's incredible biodiversity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-you-can-get-involved">How you can get involved</h2>



Consider the following ways to get involved:



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-support">Support</h3>



<ul>
<li>Targeted donations: Instead of simply donating to a general cause, research organizations dedicated to protecting specific endangered species or ecosystems that align with your concerns. Effective organizations like the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) often have focused campaigns and projects for which your contribution can have a direct impact.</li>



<li>Beyond money: Consider volunteering your time or skills. Many conservation organizations need help with administrative work, fundraising, field research, or public outreach, offering a chance to make a tangible difference.</li>
</ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-raise-awareness">Raise awareness</h3>



<ul>
<li>The power of your voice: Share articles, research findings, and success stories about endangered species conservation within your social circles. Frame the issue in a way that connects with your friends and family, sparking genuine interest and a sense of urgency.</li>



<li>Fact-based advocacy: Stay informed about threats to endangered species, legislative efforts to protect them, and the work of reputable conservation organizations. Share reliable information, counter misinformation, and encourage your network to make informed decisions as consumers and voters.</li>
</ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-make-informed-choices">Make informed choices</h3>



<ul>
<li>Sustainable consumption: Research the environmental impact of your everyday purchases (food, clothing, household goods). Choose products with minimal packaging, produced with sustainable practices, and certified as fair trade or "wildlife-friendly" whenever possible.</li>



<li>Scrutinize business practices: Support businesses with a proven commitment to reducing pollution, promoting responsible resource use, and reinvesting in conservation efforts. Let companies know that their environmental track record matters to you as a consumer.</li>



<li>Reduce, reuse, recycle: This classic mantra remains vital. Minimize consumption, repair and repurpose what you can, and properly recycle everything else. These small actions collectively protect vital habitats for endangered species.</li>
</ul>



By working together, we can help ensure a future where these magnificent creatures continue to thrive.



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NASA is tracking endangered animal habitats from space

The rapid decline of many iconic animal species due to habitat loss presents one of the most critical challenges in modern conservation. NASA, an organization typically associated with space exploration, has emerged as a valuable partner in the fight to save endangered animals. By utilizing cutting-edge satellite technology, NASA provides vital data on endangered wildlife habitats, informing and driving conservation strategies around the world. Tiger conservation: NASA maps suitable habitat Tigers, once widespread across Asia, have lost a staggering 93% of their historical range. However, a recent...

If you spend a lot of time around domesticated animals, you might begin to notice certain behavioral signals they give depending on their mood. When happy, a dog may wag its tail or a cat will begin to purr – those signals are obvious. But what about horses? How does a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/horses-make-facial-expressions/">horse</a> get across to us humans that it’s in a good mood?

Anecdotal reports have pointed towards the prevalence of horses producing “snorts” – that is, expelling air through their nostrils – when they are in positive situations. 

Given this knowledge, Mathilde Stomp of the <a href="https://www.univ-rennes1.fr/">Université de Rennes, France</a>, and her colleagues wanted to see if they could determine this experimentally. They evaluated snort production by 48 horses that live in either restricted conditions (riding school horses that spent a lot of time in individual stalls) or naturalistic conditions (stable groups of horses always in pasture).

The researchers published their results in <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>, reporting that snort production was associated with positive situations and a horse’s positive internal state – which is indicated by their ears positioned forward or sideways. Riding school horses produced twice as many snorts in pasture compared to when they were in their stalls. Furthermore, horses that were always in pasture had significantly higher snort production than riding school horses in comparable contexts.

“These results provide a potential important tool as snorts appear as a possible reliable indicator of positive emotions which could help identify situations appreciated by horses,” says Stomp.

Our ability to assess positive emotions in animals is an important step in improving animal welfare. Simply put, if a horse is frequently snorting, it’s likely that it has a positive internal state and is happy with its current situation. Indicators such as this can help owners and breeders better suit a horse’s living situation to what makes the animal the most content. 

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How to tell if a horse is happy? Listen to the snorts

If you spend a lot of time around domesticated animals,...

The Appalachian Mountains are a global hotspot for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/salamander-genome-limb-regenerate/">salamanders</a>, and ten percent of the world’s salamander species reside in the Southern Appalachian region. 

But climate change could make the region inhospitable for salamanders by 2080, leading to an increased risk of extinction for the amphibians and decreasing the rich biodiversity of the area. 

However, a new study found that salamander resilience and adaptability, also known as plasticity, has been underestimated by previous research.

The study was conducted by researchers from <a href="http://www.clemson.edu/">Clemson University</a> and published in the journal Science Advances. 

Salamanders have a great ability to adapt to their environment which led Eric Riddell and Michael Sears, the study’s lead authors, to conclude that salamander plasticity will reduce  potential extinction risk up to 72 percent. 

Unlike previous studies, the researchers took into account salamander plasticity and how  salamanders respond and adapt to stressful temperatures. 

“This is one of the first papers that has exclusively looked at plasticity in this sense,” said Sears. “We're telling you that our new predictions are nowhere near as dire as earlier predictions. In this part of the world, this is a particularly big deal. We can now say more accurately what might occur if climatic conditions continue to deteriorate.”

Sears and Riddell searched for salamanders in North Carolina and estimated the amphibian rough biomass in the area. 

The exact number of salamanders in the Appalachian is not known, but in just one square mile of forest, its estimated that you could find a combined salamander biomass of 2500 to 5000 pounds. 

Because salamanders are mostly nocturnal many people are probably unaware of just the sheer amount of lizard-like amphibians in the area. 

Understanding the threats that climate change poses to salamanders and their habitats is important not just because of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/biodiversity-key-measure-success/">risk of biodiversity loss</a>, but also because of the crucial role that salamanders play in the local ecosystem. 

Some salamanders are lungless and absorb oxygen through their moist skin. 

This is why previous estimates were concerned about the potential risks of climate change as warmer temperatures would increase aridity in the area making it harder for certain salamanders to absorb the oxygen they need. 

However, due to how long salamanders have been in the area, Sears and Riddell feel that their resilience has been largely underestimated and that when temperatures inevitably increase, salamanders will adapt. 

David Wake, a curator of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">University of California, Berkeley</a> who was not involved in the study, agreed with Sears and Riddell’s theory of salamander plasticity. 

"During the past 2 million years, the southern Appalachians have experienced some dramatic incidents of climate change,” said Wake. “So, how did the salamanders handle it? And how will they handle the accelerated climate change that most scientists accept as a near certainty? In short, they are able to adjust their physiology much more than we previously thought, and this perhaps accounts for much of their ability to deal with climate change - not by running away, but by using their abilities to adjust through time.”

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Salamanders may be surprisingly resistant to climate change

The Appalachian Mountains are a global hotspot for salamanders, and...

For honey bees, everything revolves around the queen, and for good reason. As the only fertile female in the entire colony, she is the mother of all the bees in the hive. 

Worker bees, the sterile females, serve the colony any way they can and male drone bees mate with the queen. 

But what happens to a caste system so central to its ruling monarch when the queen unexpectedly dies? How do drones and worker bees choose a new queen? 

When a queen does die, it’s up to the worker bees to choose a group of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/queen-bees-secret-ingredient/">larvae to raise as emergency queens</a>, but researchers from<a href="https://www.ncsu.edu/"> North Carolina State University</a> set out to see if the bees purposely choose larvae from their own subfamilies instead of royal larvae. 

It would make sense that the bees would choose a larva from their own gene pool because of the natural preference many species have to protect and promote their own genes. 

However, the results, published in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0199124">PLOS Biology</a>, show that this selfish tendency is not present in honey bees and instead, the bees choose the royal larvae. 

The researchers compared DNA from 92 workers and 85 emergency queens from six different colonies. Per colony, the researchers estimated 34 to 77 subfamilies, much more than previous research had found. 

The emergency queens hailed from extremely rare subfamilies with very few members according to their DNA. 

This led the researchers to conclude that in the event of the sudden death of their queen, the worker bees specifically choose larvae from royal subfamilies over their own close relatives. 

However, considering how close-knit bees in a hive are, the researchers are not sure how worker bees are able to distinguish royal larvae from others.

“While many of the specific details and mechanisms are still to be determined,” said  James Withrow, a lead author of the study. “At this point, we may safely conclude that, while inclusive fitness for nepotism may favor the individual level during emergency queen rearing, that advantage is profoundly overridden by opposing selective forces acting at multiple levels favoring cooperation and altruism.”

The results show that hive mentality overpowers selfish genetic interests. 

“While we already knew that honey bee queens mate with a large number of drones to bring genetic diversity into their colonies, this study suggests that many of a queen's mates are fathering only a tiny fraction of her total offspring,” said Withrow. “But workers are preferentially selecting members of these cryptic subfamilies for rearing into new queens.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Joseph Milone

When the queen bee dies, how do worker bees choose her successor?

For honey bees, everything revolves around the queen, and for...

A new study has revealed that the preferences of birds should be considered for the successful restoration of habitats. While previous projects have been primarily focused on plants to identify the needs of sensitive animals, researchers have found that there is more to an ecosystem than just plants that provide <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hawaiian-forest-birds-endangered/">birds</a> with what they need.

Clark Winchell of the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</a> teamed up with Paul F. Doherty, Jr. of <a href="https://www.colostate.edu/">Colorado State University</a> to explore ways of improving the traditional “single-species -oriented” conservation plan. The study was focused on the coastal sagebrush habitat of the California Gnatcatcher.

Using bird survey data, the team discovered that the probability of colonization by gnatcatchers tripled as the ratio of coastal sagebrush increased from 10 to 40 percent. Another strong predictor of occupancy was the amount of openness in the habitat, and the experts found that 30 to 40 percent openness was ideal.

The most suitable habitat for the birds was also influenced by elevation and soil texture. Winchell and Doherty found that lower elevations and loam or sandy loam soils were most preferred, and that the gnatcatchers preferred southern aspects, shallow slopes, and inland areas. 

By using a detailed scale for their analysis, the researchers were able to identify very specific areas that are the most suitable for gnatcatchers. This type of thorough research will better inform conservation efforts and lead to successful restoration projects by providing more accurate guidelines.

“Restoration ecologists are generally not gnatcatcher biologists, and vice versa. Sometimes we tend to place restoration projects where land becomes available after political negotiations,” said Winchell. “We may want to consider what is that parcel of land trying to tell us - what does the land want to be, so to speak - versus assuming we can dictate the final outcome for a location.” 

“Considering the entire functionality of the surrounding ecosystem, including the physical components, the biological community, and understanding the dynamism of the ecosystem will lead to improved restoration and wildlife management outcomes and our study is one small step in that direction.”

The research is published in the journal <a href="http://www.americanornithologypubs.org/loi/cond">The Condor: Ornithological Applications</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: A. Fisher

Best habitats for bird conservation consider soil and topography

A new study has revealed that the preferences of birds...

Certainly the majority of plants, animals, fungi, etc. that have become extinct died long before people, let alone scientists, got around to describing them.  

Dinosaurs, the most famous of extinct animals, died off around 65 million years ago, before humans evolved and certainly before Linnaeus invented his way of scientifically classifying organisms.  According to <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/extinction/massext/statement_03.html">PBS</a>, of all the organisms that ever ran, gasped, ate or simply grew in the soil, 99.9% are now extinct.

Oil spills, global <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-biodiversity/">climate change</a>, over hunting, and starved feral cats have done a lot of damage, but not nearly that much.  The fact is, like every person you now know; every species alive today will someday be dead. Species, like individuals, have lifespans.  Just as we don’t use the argument, ‘they were eventually going to die anyway’ to justify the holocaust or school shootings, the rate of modern extinctions is inexcusable.  A vast number of modern extinctions are the fault of humans, too.

Most of us are aware of modern extinctions like that of the Dodo, the Passenger Pigeon and the Thylacine.  Most of us are also aware of a handful of the myriad of known threatened and endangered species. Most of us have heard of Jane Goodall’s beloved chimpanzee and vaguely know that dolphins and some fish species aren’t doing so well these days.  Less of us understand the size of the extinction event we’re tied up in at this very moment. There are so many more insects, amphibians, small mammals and others less charismatic than the Panda that may soon face extinction. 

Also, much like an individual human leaves children behind, species often diverge, leaving new species as ancestral ones become extinct.  Like many tragedies, there are many that are now dying, unknown and unrecognized, sometimes directly from human causes. 

In his book <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=cY4t7N5aR4cC&amp;q=pothole#v=snippet&amp;q=California&amp;f=false">The Secret Knowledge of Water</a>, Craig Childs talks about small, natural desert pools in California and the invertebrates discovered in them:

“They become genetically isolated over thousands, and then millions of years.  In 1992, after nearly all of the temporary vernal pools of California were destroyed by human development, researchers went out to catalog those still intact.  Of the sixty-seven species of crustaceans found in the remaining pools, thirty had never been documented anywhere on the planet…A quarter of these newly found species were each found in its own pool among the fifty-eight pools studied, meaning there is not much motion between one pool and the next.  What was lost in the hundreds of destroyed pools is unknown.” 

Imagine species dying off because of human actions and no one even realizing it until after the fact.  Perhaps you or I have stepped on one of the last of an exceedingly rare species of ant or swatted an insect thinking it a mosquito and precipitated extinction.  The thought is both depressing and awe inspiring in its suggestion of the number of life forms still inhabiting the planet with us.

The Simandou region of Guinea, West Africa is a land of lush and modest mountains covered in tropical forests.  The area is considered one of the world’s most biologically rich but also endangered forest habitats. Among mountains rising as high as 5440 feet above sea level, there are caves.  One of these caves contained a rare cockroach, Simandoa conserfariam, or the Simandoa Cave Cockroach.  The roach seems unremarkable to most, an animal with a smooth, dark grey body with darker heads and orange-ish legs.  

What makes these roaches unique is the fate of their cave home.  After scientists collected a few of the cave cockroaches, the cave itself was destroyed by a bauxite mining operation.  In a weird twist of fate, the cockroach now lives all over the world, fostered in small cages by pet enthusiasts with irregular love for arthropods.  You can even <a href="https://shop.bugsincyberspace.com/Extinct-in-the-Wild-Roach-bic255.htm">buy</a> a roach nymph online for $6.00 in the US.  

I’ve explored caves in search of tiny arthropods as a volunteer for projects involving Northern Arizona University and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  It’s easy for a spider, a millipede or a cricket living in the dark cracks of limestone to elude a researcher. You can spend a week or a month scouring a cave and still find new animals hiding in the dark.  Considering the fate of the Simandoa Cave Cockroach, it’s easy to imagine that many species weren’t lucky enough to be carried into captivity before dying off in their native habitats.

Another cockroach known for its ability to glow, mimicking a poisonous click beetle was discovered in Ecuador.  <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2012/11/new-species-of-bioluminescent-cockroach-possibly-already-extinct-by-volcanic-eruption/">Mongabay</a> reported that the roach, Lucihormetica luckae, may already be extinct.  In the case of the glowing cockroach, it vanished after 2010 when a volcano erupted near where it was discovered.  The cockroach is (or was) the only known example of a land animal using bioluminescence in mimicry. 

In animal taxonomy, vertebrates are more well-known than invertebrates.  Partly this is because there are fewer vertebrates and they are generally easier to find, partly we understand vertebrates better because we’re biased towards them.  Birds are intensively researched, both professionally and by ‘citizen scientist’ birders fascinated by their feathered neighbors. In an article in <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(14)01618-2.pdf">cell.com</a>, Alexander Lees and Stuart Pimm paint a picture of some of the birds we may have lost in Brazil’s highly endangered Atlantic Forest and elsewhere in the world:

“The recent update of the IUCN Red List has identified 13 more bird species that went extinct after 1500, but before taxonomists could describe them. All of these were island species. We are still documenting the impacts of European explorers —and the rats and cats that came with them — that began centuries ago. We know about some early extinctions from anecdotal evidence, such as eyewitness accounts and drawings… Northeast Brazil has a similar, albeit less certain example: multiple travellers reported an all-black parrot, but no specimen exists…” 

If a species of bird can go extinct with little fanfare, without any scientific knowledge, it doesn’t bode well for other less conspicuous organisms.  

Nearly the reverse of an organism that goes extinct without being described scientifically is a so-called ‘Lazarus taxon’.  A Lazarus taxon is an organism thought to be extinct, sometimes recently and sometimes found only as a fossil but then later is found to actually be still alive.  

The classic example of a Lazarus taxon is the coelacanth.  The coelacanth can measure up to six feet in length and 200 pounds in weight.  The ocean is a vast place to hide for an animal that is dwarfed next to whales, sharks and giant squid.  The coelacanth was thought to have died off in the extinction event that took the dinosaurs 65 million years ago until a fisherman caught one off the coast of Madagascar in 1938.  A second specimen of coelacanth was found in Indonesia in 1998. 

There are a number of animals that were thought to be legend or extinct but turned out to be alive.  Gorillas were once thought by westerners to be a native myth, not a real animal. The Golden Bamboo Lemur was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered.  

The fact is, as much as we think we know about the natural world, we’re largely ignorant of even the basics of what organisms are now alive and which are extinct.  According to a paper published in <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127">PlosOne</a>, an estimated 86% of land species are undescribed by science and 91% of species in the ocean.  That leaves an enormous amount of mystery in the world and an enormous amount of potential to destroy life or leave it as it is.          

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Lost extinctions: When animals die off before science finds them

Certainly the majority of plants, animals, fungi, etc. that have...

The spectacled cormorant was a large-bodied seabird first discovered on Bering Island in the 18th century. It was believed to have only existed on this one island in the northern <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/water-stuck-pacific-ocean/">Pacific Ocean</a>, before being hunted to extinction after Bering Island was colonized by humans in the early 1800s. But scientists have now made an exciting discovery – no, the species is still extinct – but researchers from <a href="https://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/">Kyoto University</a> have found that this bird also resided in Japan almost 120,000 years ago.

In a study published in <a href="http://www.americanornithology.org/content/auk-ornithological-advances">The Auk: Ornithological Advances</a>, the research team reports that this species underwent a significant range contraction or shift, and that the specimens found on Bering Island are “relicts” of a species that was once more widespread. 

“Before our report, there was no evidence that the cormorant lived outside of Bering Island,” says Junya Watanabe of Kyoto University's Department of Geology and Mineralogy, and first author of the study.

The research team studied bird fossils recovered from Shiriya, identifying 13 bones of the spectacled cormorant from upper Pleistocene deposits, which formed almost 120,000 years ago. 

“It became clear that we were seeing a cormorant species much larger than any of the four native species in present-day Japan,” explains co-author Hiroshige Matsuoka. “At first, we thought this might be a new species, but these fossils matched bones of the spectacled cormorant stored at the Smithsonian Institution.”

It is thought that changes in oceanographic conditions could have been responsible for the disappearance of the species in Japan. Previous paleoclimate studies have found that oceanic productivity near Shiriya decreased significantly in the Last Glacial Maximum, which occurred roughly 20,000 years ago. These changes may have dramatically affected the cormorant population.

“The cormorant was a gigantic animal, its large size thought to have been achieved through adaptation to the island-oriented lifestyle on Bering,” says Watanabe. “But our finding suggests that this might not have been the case; after all, it just resided there as a relict. The biological aspects of these animals deserve much more attention.”

The study of extinction events such as this are necessary for us to better understand how natural disturbances affect species – especially in our changing climate. It’s possible that studying the past may ultimately save our future.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Newly extinct giant seabird may have roamed around the Pacific

The spectacled cormorant was a large-bodied seabird first discovered on...

More than two decades of conservation efforts to protect the endangered Nassau grouper have proven to be successful, as some populations of the species have strengthened across the Caribbean. However, research from the <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/">University of Texas at Austin</a> has revealed that this restorative success may be substantially hindered due to climate change.

A team of marine scientists has found that the breeding habitats of the Nassau grouper are projected to decline by 82 percent during this century if <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-displacement-climate-change/">climate change</a> is not mitigated. 

Acceptable spawning habitats are critical to the survival of these and other reef fish. Nassau groupers, for example, have a narrow temperature range that they can tolerate while spawning.

The experts also found that suitable habitats for non-spawning fish are projected to decline by 46 percent by 2100.

“The effects of climate change could override some of the successes of conservation efforts at local and regional scales,” said study co-author Brad Erisman. “That is, if Nassau grouper no longer migrate to spawn in a particular region because the water is too warm, then protecting spawning sites in that region will be ineffective.” 

“Likewise, if the months when spawning occurs in certain regions shifts in response to climate change, then seasonal protection measures in those regions will need to shift accordingly to ensure that spawning is still protected.”

The reproduction success of the Nassau grouper depends on large breeding events, called spawning aggregations, where hundreds to thousands of fish gather in the same region for a few days to mate. These events make the fish easy targets for commercial fishing, and overfishing is what caused the species to become endangered in the first place.

Many countries like the United States have banned the fishing of Nassau grouper, while other nations such as Cuba and the Dominican Republic have restricted fishing during spawning season.

Study co-author Rebecca G. Asch is an assistant professor of Fisheries Biology at <a href="https://www.ecu.edu/">East Carolina University</a>.

“To truly understand how climate will impact fishes, we need to know how it will impact the most vulnerable life history stage, spawning,” said Professor Asch. “If this link in the life cycle is jeopardized, the species as a whole will be in jeopardy.”

Grouper are preyed upon by large predators such as sharks, and the health of the marine ecosystem depends on such important components of the food chain.

“The loss of these important, energy-rich events has negative impacts that span entire food webs and ecosystems,” said Erisman.


According to the scientists, the breeding habitat for the Nassau grouper may only be reduced by 30 percent if major steps are taken to slow climate change.


The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/loi/14724642">Diversity and Distributions</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Alfredo Barroso

Climate change threatens Caribbean reef fish conservation

More than two decades of conservation efforts to protect the...

Many non-human primates live in social groups that revolve around cooperation and the exchange of services much like humans do. Grooming interactions are particularly important in this type of social system because they can be exchanged for some of the most important services, such as food or support during a fight.

Grooming time is limited, so individuals aim to select the best grooming partner from all available candidates. However, the success of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-learn-grooming-mothers/">grooming</a> interaction also depends on the audience. For example, if the partner has a friend in the audience, the friend may try to interfere or the partner may choose to leave the grooming session early - wasting the time and effort of the groomer.

Primatologist Alexander Mielke and his team from the <a href="https://www.eva.mpg.de/">Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology</a> have studied the social behavior of chimpanzees and sooty mangabeys at Taï National Park. The researchers wanted to know what is taken into account when these animals select a grooming partner, and also whether a nearby audience has any influence on this decision.

As part of the Taï Chimpanzee Project, the researchers collected data in two chimpanzee communities and one mangabey community, analyzing data that had been previously collected to determine the social relationships and ranks of the individuals.

“Choosing a grooming partner from among ten, fifteen possible candidates - some of them friends, high-ranking, or with babies - is a very difficult task indeed,” explained study first author Alexander Mielke. “And yet individuals from both species, chimpanzee and sooty mangabey, chose their partner flexibly.”

“Both mangabeys and chimpanzees actually preferred grooming mothers with babies, something we did not know was the case in chimpanzees. Both species used grooming for reconciliation, and both species groomed their friends more.” 

“Most strikingly, in both species grooming choices depended strongly on the social environment. The animals avoided grooming individuals with close friends nearby, possibly because these friends might interrupt the grooming interaction, or because their potential partner might prefer to go and groom these friends.” 

Mielke said that individuals also chose partners who were higher-ranking compared to other potential partners, regardless of their overall rank in the community. 

“This shows that both species are flexible when it comes to taking a decision, and that individuals use the information they have about all available partners,” he explained. “Yet they also consider the wider social circumstances, and adapt their choice to maximize their own benefit.”

The findings of the study demonstrate that primates are aware of the ranks and social relationships of possible partners, and they also judge individuals flexibly and simultaneously to choose the best option.

“The fact that we found these results in both mangabeys and chimpanzees might indicate that this impressive cognitive feat is more widespread amongst primates than previously known,” said Mielke. 

“Grooming is an important part of primate cooperation and choosing the best partner in a specific situation is a vital skill. As in humans, primate social groups consist of many individuals, each with their own status, own objectives, own history.”

“This study gives further evidence that at least mangabeys and chimpanzees are equipped with the cognitive abilities to navigate and thrive in this complex social world.”

The research is published in the journal <a href="http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/">Royal Society Open Science</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Humans are not the only primates to carefully select friends

Many non-human primates live in social groups that revolve around...

An international team of researchers led by the <a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> has found that illuminating fishing nets with inexpensive LED lights could cut injuries and deaths to seabirds and marine animals by more than 85 percent.

The experts demonstrated that green, battery-powered <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/led-lights-last-longer-but-some-shades-are-harmful-to-wildlife/">LED lights</a> can drastically reduce the amount of birds getting caught in gillnets, which are placed in fixed positions and designed to capture fish by the gills. The investigation was focused on 114 pairs of gillnets in fishing waters off the coast of Peru.

The study revealed that, compared to the nets that were not illuminated, the nets with LED lights caught 85 percent fewer guanay cormorants - a native diving bird that commonly becomes entangled in nets.


[caption id="attachment_1216254" align="aligncenter" width="996"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/led-lights.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-1216254" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/led-lights-1024x768.jpg" alt="" width="996" height="747" /></a> Image Credit: ProDelphinus[/caption]

A previous study conducted by the same team found that LED lighting also reduced the number of sea turtles caught in fishing nets by 64 percent.


The researchers believe that the lights provide a cheap and reliable method that will dramatically reduce the capture and death of birds and turtles, while essentially having no effect on the amount of fish caught in the nets.


“We are very encouraged by the results from this study,” said lead author Dr. Jeffrey Mangel. “It shows us that we may be able to find cost-effective ways to reduce bycatch of multiple taxa of protected species, and do so while still making it possible for fishers to earn a livelihood.”

Peru's gillnet fleet is estimated to set at least 100,000 kilometers of net per year, in which thousands of turtles and seabirds will be unintentionally caught as bycatch.


“It is satisfying to see the work coming from our Exeter Marine PhDs leading to such positive impact in the world,” said study co-author Professor Brendan Godley. “We need to find ways for coastal peoples to fish with the least impact on the rest of the biodiversity in their seas.”


The research is published in the journal <a href="http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/">Royal Society Open Science</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Andrew F Johnson

LED lights could save seabirds from getting stuck in fishing nets

An international team of researchers led by the University of...

The endangered Southern Resident killer whale of the Pacific Northwest has been in a state of steady decline in recent years. By the end of 2016, the population hit the lowest it has been in several decades with a total number of 78 individuals. 

The <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> (NOAA) has been actively monitoring Southern Resident killer whales to find ways to protect what remains of this iconic species. According to NOAA, the population has gone through several stages of growth and decline since the 1970s.

Experts at NOAA have identified three major threats to the group, including the simultaneous decline of their primary food source - Chinook salmon, sound interference from boat traffic, and high levels of contaminants.

In addition, a recent study found that female orcas are having reproductive issues due to nutritional stress caused by the low supply of Chinook salmon.

The NOAA researchers are applying many different methods to study how these threats are affecting the whales. The study findings will be used help inform conservation and management actions that can effectively address these threats.  

Acoustic monitors and digital acoustic tags are helping the experts understand the everyday activity of the whales. They are also learning about how the orcas respond to sound disturbances and how this may affect their foraging behavior.

Aerial drones are being used to take photos of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-research-reveals-that-whales-mourn-their-dead/">whales</a> to examine their body conditions such as health, weight, and whether any females are pregnant.

The researchers also collect poop from the whales to study hormones, contaminants, and the genetics of individual whales and the salmon they eat.

In order to protect Southern Resident killer whales, the NOAA researchers explained that their top priorities are understanding what is causing problems with health and reproduction and also increasing the amount of food available for the whales.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Experts are scrambling to save endangered killer whales

The endangered Southern Resident killer whale of the Pacific Northwest...

In an article written for <a href="http://theconversation.com/au">The Conversation</a>, Dr. David Redding and Dr. Elizabeth Boakes of the <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a> (UCL) provide some troubling insight into the impact of human activities on our planet's <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/biodiversity-key-measure-success/">biodiversity</a>.

According to the researchers, “fossil records show that current extinction levels are around 1,000 times the natural background rate.” The experts explain that habitat loss, hunting, climate change, and the introduction of invasive species are all accelerating this loss.

“Amphibians seem particularly sensitive to environmental change, with estimated extinction rates up to 45,000 times their natural speed,” write the researchers. “Most of these extinctions are unrecorded, so we do not even know what species we are losing.”

The experts point to the loss of the last male white rhino, Sudan, and question how we will be affected by species that are not as iconic or that we do not even know exist. They stress how healthy ecosystems provide invaluable services to humans and keep the planet balanced.

“Forests and wetlands prevent pollutants entering our water supplies, mangroves provide coastal defence by reducing storm surges, and green spaces in urban areas lower city-dwellers’ rates of mental illness,” the authors write in The Conversation. “A continued loss of biodiversity will disrupt these services even further.”

According to the experts, the stress that we are putting on ecosystems and the disturbances that we are causing to the Earth have never before occurred simultaneously. They warn that it is “quite a gamble to assume that we can so damage our planet while at the same time maintaining the seven billion humans that live on it.”


Dr. Redding and Dr. Boakes also emphasize that while some of the environmental damage we have done can still be reversed, extinction cannot. 


“Extinction is irrevocably final,” write the authors.


“We may not all agree, but extinction is broadening its reach, so consensus and urgent action are needed if we hope to control it.”

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Human activities are prompting alarming extinction rates

In an article written for The Conversation, Dr. David Redding...

Researchers at <a href="https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/home">Lund University</a> in Sweden have found evidence that contradicts the theory that black and white stripes keep zebras cool in the hot sun.


The debate on the function of zebra stripes dates back to the time of Charles Darwin. Some experts have suggested that the stripes help zebras to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-use-camouflage/">camouflage</a> themselves.

Another theory is that the contrast in heat among the black and white areas of fur create small vortexes that circulate like a fan and cool the body.


To investigate this hypothesis, the research team filled metal barrels with water and covered them with colors to imitate skin, including black and white stripes, black, white, brown, and grey. 

After the barrels were exposed to the sun, the experts measured the temperature in each barrel. As expected, the black one was the hottest and the white one the coolest. The temperatures recorded in the striped and grey barrels were similar and were not substantially cooler.

“According to the hypothesis of regulating body temperature, zebra stripes are expected to cool the body by means of convective air eddies induced by temperature gradients over alternating black and white stripes,” said study co-author Susanne Åkesson.


She explained that this theory seems likely because black zebra stripes do get warmer in the sun as they absorb more light compared to the cooler white stripes.


Infrared imaging revealed that sunlit black stripes are, in fact, warmer than sunlit white stripes and that the difference rises with the temperature. On the other hand, the team found that the temperature differences are reversed at night, when black stripes become cooler than white ones.

“All these experimental findings provide evidence against the hypothesis of cooling effect of zebra stripes, because striped coats do not keep the core temperature of the body any cooler than homogeneous grey coats with a similar average whiteness,” said Åkesson. “The stripes didn't lower the temperature. It turns out stripes don't actually cool zebras.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/scientificreports">Scientific Reports</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Stripes do not help zebras stay cool in the sun

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have found evidence that...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a new self-powered nanosensor that can instantly detect mercury contamination with the tap of a finger.&nbsp;



The oxidized form of mercury can be harmful when it is ingested through contaminated water or food. This makes it necessary for experts to develop sensors that can quickly and accurately detect the presence of mercury.&nbsp;



Zong-Hong Lin and colleagues have now created a triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) that can detect mercury by simply by touching a sample. According to the researchers, their TENS could serve as the basis for similar devices to safely and remotely monitor other pollutants.



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

How does salt makes things taste better?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



'The weather of Santiago resembles the Mediterranean climate with dry and warm summers with temperatures reaching up to 35°C (from October to March) and cool and humid winters that can drop to 0°C (from April to September)."



"The city lies in the centre of the country’s central valley around 80 km from the Pacific Ocean to the west and borders Argentina to the east. A tiny part of Argentina is visible in the top-right corner of the image where the mountain crest of the Andes Mountains acts as a divider between the two countries," says ESA.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Santiago, Chile in South America

[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Spiral,Galaxy,,Illustration,Of,Milky,Way

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Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features northwest Lesotho in South Africa.



According to ESA, Lesotho is the only nation in the world that lies completely above 1,000 m in elevation. The country is famous for its tall mountains and narrow valleys, and is known as Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky."



Out of a population of around two million people, about 80 percent live in rural areas. More than 75 percent of these people are engaged in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-have-a-global-impact-on-agriculture/">agriculture</a>, including rainfed cereal production and animal grazing.&nbsp;



ESA reports that the country’s agricultural system faces a growing number of issues, with climate-related vulnerabilities such as drought, floods and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently. 



Diamonds are amongst the minerals found in the mountains. Indeed, Lesotho can truly be called the Kingdom in the Sky. Beautiful, culturally rich, safe, affordable, and easily accessible from Durban and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a vastly underrated travel destination. the Kingdom of Lesotho (Sotho: 'Muso oa Lesotho) is an enclaved country in southern Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population of around 2 million.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland. Beyond its pub culture, Dublin is known as a modern culinary destination and a UNESCO City of Literature.



"Dublin is located near the midpoint of Ireland’s east coast in the province of Leinster. The city, which covers an area of around 115 square kilometers, is bordered by the Dublin Mountains, a low mountain range to the south, and is surrounded by flat farmland to the north and west," says ESA.



"The city straddles the River Liffey, which rises in the Wicklow Mountains and flows around 80 kilometers eastwards through the city of Dublin, in which it is canalised and bordered with quays. It then empties into Dublin Bay, an arm of the Irish Sea."



Dublin has an abundance of green spaces, including one of the largest enclosed public parks in any European capital city. Phoenix Park, which was originally formed as a royal hunting park in the 1660s, includes 707 hectares of green space.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.



"Together with the provinces of Huesca and Teruel, Zaragoza formed the old kingdom of Aragon. Its capital, also called Zaragoza (not visible in this image) is home to around half of Aragon’s population," says ESA.



"The Ebro River can be seen winding its way through the province from west to east in this image. Between its source in the Cantabrian Mountains in the northwest and its delta on the Mediterranean coast, the Ebro River is fed by more than 200 tributaries as it flows 910 km across much of northern Spain."



Since rainfall is very scarce in this region, irrigation in the Ebro basin is critically important. In the valleys surrounding the Ebro River, many fields are used for growing crops such as corn, wheat, and barley.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> reveals the evolution of the Columbia Glacier in southeastern Alaska. Columbia is among the fastest shrinking glaciers in the world, and the video documents its rapid retreat over the years.&nbsp;



Columbia Glacier is a large, multi-branched calving glacier that flows out of the Chugach Mountains to the Prince William Sound.&nbsp;



According to USGS, Columbia had a long history of stability prior to 1980, with a length 41 miles, and small, short-lived advances or retreats.



In the years since 1980, however, satellite images have captured Columbia’s alarming retreat. By using false-color images, scientists can distinguish between snow and ice, open water, vegetation, and rocky debris on the glacier’s surface.



The series of false-color images featured in today's video were acquired over the span of 35 years. You can see that by 2021, the glacier’s main branch had retreated about 15 miles from its initial position.



The Columbia Glacier has also lost more than 50 percent of its volume, mostly due to calving. <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/nasa-reveals-3d-visual-of-an-atmospheric-river/">NASA</a> reports that while climate change likely started the retreat, mechanical processes kept the disintegration going.



The NASA images are provided by Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, Joshua Stevens, and Lauren Dauphin using data from Landsat satellites, from the U.S. Geological Survey, and data from MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite. The structure of Columbia’s moraine played a large role in the stability of the glacier before 1980. 



Like other tidewater glaciers, the Columbia built up a moraine over time, and the mixture of ice and rock functioned like a dam keeping out the sea. It was supported on one end by the shoreline and by the underwater terminal moraine at the other.



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/&nbsp; NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the Pyrenees Mountains, which form a natural boundary between France and Spain in southwest Europe.



The mountain range is 430 kilometers in length. It stretches from the Mediterranean Sea on the east to the Atlantic Ocean on the west.



At an elevation of 3404 meters, Pico de Aneto is the highest mountain peak in the Pyrenees, and the third-highest peak in Spain. Pico de Aneto is located in the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, which spans more than 82,000 acres.&nbsp;



"Geological studies have revealed that the Pyrenees Mountains have been around for longer than the Alps, with their sediments first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras," reports ESA.



"The entire mountain range formed due to the upwelling of large sedimentary rocks by the collision of the Iberian and the Eurasian plate around 100 to 150 million years ago, followed by intense erosion from ice and water."



The western Pyrenees receive more precipitation due to moisture blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. The mountain range contains many lakes, several small glaciers, and some of the highest waterfalls in Europe.



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes two exoplanets that are orbiting a star 218 light-years away. A team of researchers led by the University of Montreal has found evidence that these planets are "water worlds."



The experts used data from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. They discovered that exoplanets Kepler-138 c and Kepler-138 could be composed largely of water.



"We previously thought that planets that were a bit larger than Earth were big balls of metal and rock, like scaled-up versions of Earth, and that's why we called them super-Earths," explained study co-author Björn Benneke.&nbsp;



"However, we have now shown that these two planets, Kepler-138 c and d, are quite different in nature and that a big fraction of their entire volume is likely composed of water. It is the best evidence yet for water worlds, a type of planet that was theorized by astronomers to exist for a long time."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and Leah Hustak (STScI)



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science explores how changes in water temperatures have affected tiger shark habitats and movements in the North Atlantic Ocean. The study reveals that rising temperatures have caused the sharks to shift toward the poles over the past 40 years.



“Tiger shark annual migrations have expanded poleward, paralleling rising water temperatures,” explained study lead author Neil Hammerschlag. “These results have consequences for tiger shark conservation, since shifts in their movements outside of marine protected areas may leave them more vulnerable to commercial fishing.”



The researchers analyzed nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, combined with four decades of conventional tag and recapture data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.



The experts found that during the last decade of record heat, for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temperatures, tiger sharks migrated further poleward by over 400 kilometers. They also migrated two weeks earlier than usual to waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.



“Given their role as apex predators, these changes to tiger shark movements may alter predator-prey interactions, leading to ecological imbalances, and more frequent encounters with humans,” concluded Professor Hammerschlag.



Video Credit: University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

Today’s Video of the Day from the University of Miami...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> is focused on the melt ponds that emerge during the spring and summer on the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere.



"Melt ponds are vast pools of open water that form on both sea ice and ice sheets and are visible as turquoise-blue pools of water in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image," says ESA.



"When snow and ice melts atop glaciers, water flows in channels and streams and collects in depressions on the surface. These melt ponds can speed up the melting of the surrounding ice since they greatly reduce the ice’s ability to reflect sunlight."



"This can create a positive feedback where an increasing number of melt ponds absorb more heat which causes ice cover to melt even faster."



According to ESA, Greenland has been hit with a late-season heatwave that began in early September. This caused the type of melt event that usually occurs in the middle of summer.



"In a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change, scientists found that major sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice cap is now ‘inevitable’ even if the burning of fossil fuels were to halt overnight," says ESA. "Using satellite observations of Greenland ice loss and ice cap from 2000 to 2019, the team found the losses will lead to a minimum rise of 27 cm regardless of climate change."



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes a new map of Mars that is providing insight into the planet’s watery past. The map also reveals where future missions could safely land on Mars.&nbsp;



The map has been created over the last decade using observations of water-rich rocks and mineral deposits. The images were captured by ESA’s Mars Express and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.



"A big surprise is the prevalence of these minerals, with the map revealing hundreds of thousands of water-affected locations in the oldest parts of the planet," says ESA. "The new data will help answer exciting questions about Mars’ climate history, whether water was globally persistent or confined to short, intense episodes, and whether the conditions were ever suitable for life."



"Specifically, the map shows the locations and abundances of aqueous minerals. These are from rocks that have been chemically altered by the action of water in the past, and have typically been transformed into clays and salts."



According to John Carter of the Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), our collective understanding of Mars has been oversimplified. He explained that planetary scientists have tended to think that only a few types of clay minerals on Mars were created during its wet period, then as the water gradually dried up, salts were produced across the planet.



The new map shows that the composition of Mars is much more complicated than what we thought. For example, while many salts formed after Martian clays, there are some salts that are presumed to be older than some of the clays.&nbsp;



“The evolution from lots of water to no water is not as clear cut as we thought, the water didn’t just stop overnight. We see a huge diversity of geological contexts, so that no one process or simple timeline can explain the evolution of the mineralogy of Mars. That’s the first result of our study. The second is that if you exclude life processes on Earth, Mars exhibits a diversity of mineralogy in geological settings just as Earth does,” said Carter.



Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> describes how cavefish adapted to a sedentary lifestyle over tens of thousands of years. 



The experts found that the muscle metabolism of cavefish has been genetically reprogrammed over time. As a result, the animals have experienced major changes in their morphology and behavior. Despite these changes, however, the cavefish remain healthy and fit.



The research may provide new clues about the evolutionary consequences of prolonged physical inactivity in humans.&nbsp;



“It’s no surprise that people are moving less and less as technology has advanced,” said Rohner. “With cavefish, we have a unique system where we can study what might happen if people remained couch potatoes over very, very long periods of time.”



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> some of the most incredible waves in the world, as seen by Landsat satellites.



"With more than 370,000 miles of coastline on Earth, there are plenty of places where epic waves build up, curl over, and hurtle toward the shore.- much to the thrill of surfers," says NASA. "There are some places where these waves are so magnificent that they can be seen from space."



"With the broad perspective of satellites, we can see how these iconic waves develop into the world’s tallest, longest, fastest, and heaviest."



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes why satellite images and measurements of our planet have become "essential to our survival, offering a new outlook of our world."&nbsp;



Rising sea levels pose one of the biggest societal threats associated with climate change. According to ESA, satellite altimeter missions such as Copernicus Sentinel-6 are essential in monitoring global and regional changes in sea level.



"Unbeknown to many, the island of Crete, Greece, plays an important role in the Copernicus satellite altimetry constellation and on an international stage," reports ESA.



"Satellite altimetry data have to be continuously monitored at the ESA’s Permanent Facility for Altimetry Calibration where different techniques have pioneered the use of transponders to provide the best measurements to validate satellite altimeters in space soon after launch."



Dr. Craig Donlon explains that, by understanding planet Earth through satellite measurements, we are able to find evidence of change.&nbsp;



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Satellites have become essential to our survival

[sendtonews key="761m2QQvR1-2035772-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...